Student Organization Spotlight| Fraternity & Sorority Life

Classes are back in session, syllabus week is over and homework will begin piling up. However, with a new semester comes new opportunities and fresh starts. Various student organizations are hosting kickoff meetings and info nights, including North Dakota State Fraternity & Sorority Life.

Arguably one of NDSU’s larger communities, NDSU Fraternity & Sorority Life consists of 16 fraternities and sororities on campus with an additional fraternity coming to NDSU this fall making it 17 total. According to the Fraternity & Sorority Life’s Academic Report, 863 students, or 8 percent of the undergraduate population, were involved in fraternities and sororities during the 2017 spring semester. Fraternity & Sorority Life is open to students of all majors, however there are several major-specific chapters in the Greek community.

Each chapter in the Fraternity & Sorority Life community is based on a foundation of scholarship, leadership, service and brotherhood and sisterhood. Promoting and upholding these values, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) governs the fraternities at NDSU while the Panhellenic Council governs sororities at NDSU that are a part of the National Panhellenic Conference.

As scholarship is one of the foundation blocks, members strive to make academics a priority. According to Renee DuBois, the Assistant Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life, “Fraternities and sororities require certain GPAs to get into the organization as well as stay in the organization.” DuBois also shared that historically, the Fraternity & Sorority Life average GPA is higher than the all campus GPA. To promote scholarship across campus, Fraternity & Sorority Life hosts Study-a-Thon every semester, an event open to all students that provides students with space to study. It lasts twelve hours the Sunday before finals week and is filled with awesome prizes and study snacks.

Fraternity & Sorority Life fosters leadership amongst its members. “There are tons of opportunities for individual growth and leadership opportunities both within your chapter, within Greek life as a whole … as well in our whole NDSU community,” shared Abby Gindorff, Panhellenic Council Vice President of Recruitment. Gindorff explained that many members of Fraternity & Sorority life are involved in multiple organizations across campus, ranging from Student Government to Saddle & Sirloin.

Chapters work hard to volunteer and fundraise for non-profit organizations through which their organization is partnered with. Various chapters also set goals for their members to volunteer individually throughout the school year and summer. According to the Fraternity & Sorority Life website, last year the Greek community at NDSU raised over $85,000 for various non-profit organizations and volunteered over 24,000 hours of service.

Fraternity & Sorority Life provides a brotherhood/sisterhood experience for its members. Of the many benefits of Fraternity & Sorority Life, DuBois shared, “Being able to join an organization with between 30 to 100 members and instantly having that family, nothing can really describe that feeling.” DuBois explained that the support network for new students and upperclassmen contributes to the strong brotherhood and sisterhood present in the chapters.

Jordyn Meskan | THE SPECTRUMMembers of Fraternity & Sorority Life enjoyed talking with interested students at the Meet & Greek.

On Aug. 24, 2017, NDSU Fraternity & Sorority Life hosted “Meet and Greek,” an opportunity for students interested in Fraternity and Sorority Life to meet with members of the Greek community. Members of Fraternity & Sorority Life were eager to share their stories and why they chose to join Fraternity & Sorority Life at NDSU. Ben Ferguson, member of Kappa Psi, said, “I joined because I wanted to be more involved on campus, and I had a lot of friends involved in Greek life that spoke very highly of it.” Like Ferguson, many other members of various chapters chose to join a fraternity or sorority for the same reason.

Members of Alpha Gamma Rho shared that they joined their fraternity because there was a great sense of community and it felt like home. Members of Kappa Delta explained that they chose to join because of the networking opportunities and lasting friendships. Some of the members of Delta Tau Delta saw joining a fraternity as a great way to get out and involved in the community, as well as a way to leave a positive impact on campus. A member of Tau Kappa Epsilon chose to follow his father’s footsteps who was also was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Several of members of Alpha Gamma Delta shared that they joined the Greek community because it was a great way to meet people as well as the constant support system.

In addition to the leadership opportunities, Reed Peterson, a member of Sigma Chi, explained, “I joined Greek life because I wanted to become more active in on-campus activities and be submerged into a group of motivated individuals who volunteer and value philanthropy. Greek life does a great job of stressing the importance of giving back to the community and beyond.”

Austin Breuer, IFC Recruitment Chair, explained one of the many (and largest) benefits of joining Fraternity & Sorority Life is the immense network that comes with it. “The alumni are a huge networking opportunity,” Breuer said. Also any chapter has an extensive network that can link members with alumni in their respective field.

With the semester off to an exciting start, NDSU Fraternity & Sorority Life is excited for recruitment. Both Breuer and Gindorff encourage students who are interested in joining Fraternity & Sorority Life consider participating in recruitment events.

Fraternity recruitment begins Sept. 4, 2017 and ends Sept. 8, 2017. “Every fraternity has their own individualized events,” Breuer said, where students can check out different fraternities to meet new people and get to know the members. There is no sign up necessary; students can just show up for the activities that interest them. Breuer encourages interested students to participate in as many recruitment events as they can. Furthermore, Breuer suggests that students interested in learning more about specific fraternities should stay in contact with members of that fraternity so they can stay up to date with the events going on throughout the week.

Sorority recruitment begins on Sept. 8, 2017 and ends Sept. 11, 2017. Those interested in joining one of NDSU’s four sororities are encouraged to sign up for Formal Recruitment online. Sorority recruitment is a fun-packed several days. “You get to meet a ton of amazing women going through recruitment at the same time as you,” Gindorff shared. For those debating whether or not to participate in Formal Recruitment, Gindorff advised, “Take that chance, you might wonder ‘what if’ down the road.” The sign up for formal recruitment can be found on the Fraternity & Sorority Life website, or at https://ndsubison.mycampusdirector2.com/landing/.